Chuck Squatriglia of Wired says that the Chevrolet Volt sure drives sweet — it’s attractive, practical and fun to drive:
A “sport mode” button on the dash boosts output from 90 kilowatts (120 horsepower) to 111 kilowatts (148). Push it and you’ll lose some efficiency, but the car accelerates with more authority. Our feel behind the wheel is the car’s claimed zero-to-60 time of around 8 second is in the ballpark.The Volt is about the same size as the Toyota Prius and weighs a little more than the Chevrolet Cruze. The car’s final weight hasn’t been determined because GM hasn’t decided how big a gas tank to give it and there are other details to be worked out, but figure it’ll come in around 3,500 pounds.
It handles like any other small sedan. GM describes it as sporty. We’d describe it as nearly nimble. The ride is comfortable but not too soft, the steering is responsive, and the chassis is tight. The Volt isn’t a sports car, but it is reasonably fun to drive.
The Volt runs exclusively on electricity:
There’s also a 1.4-liter engine under the hood, but it isn’t connected to the wheels. Its only job is driving a 53-kilowatt generator that keeps the juice flowing when the battery runs down.
Battery performance is the obvious concern, both short-term and long-term:
Plug the cord into a conventional 110-volt, 12-amp socket and you’ll charge the Volt’s battery in 6 or 8 hours. Stick it into a 220-volt, 15-amp outlet like your dryer uses and Posawatz said you can do it in less than 3.Although the Volt has a 16-kilowatt-hour battery, it only uses half that. GM overbuilt the pack to ensure it’s good for at least 10 years or 150,000 miles. The General is backing it with a warranty that long.
“We’re very confident that we have a battery pack that delivers the range, durability and performance consumers have a right to expect,” said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman and the guy cracking the whip to get the Volt built. If the battery shoots craps before the car does, Lutz said replacing it shouldn’t cost more than an engine overhaul.
“I don’t see why it would cost any more than that,” he said.
That’s optimistic at this point. Automakers, least of all GM, don’t discuss how much lithium-ion batteries cost. That’s one reason Nissan says it will lease the pack in the Leaf EV. Most experts say they run $500 to $1,000 per kilowatt-hour. GM — which is building its own batteries at a factory in Detroit — is confident costs will come down as hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs become more common.
So the Volt is carrying an extra 8 kW-hours of battery storage, at $500 to $1,000 per kW-hour? That can’t help the price tag — or the weight of the car:
There’s only room for four people, because the car’s 400-pound T-shaped battery runs down the middle and under the back seats. That keeps the mass centralized, the center of gravity low and the pack safe.“We protect the battery as well as the second-row passengers,” Posawatz said.
No word yet on the price, but GM is widely believed to be trying to keep the cost below $40,000. Add in the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs and figure on a sticker price around $32,500.
Electric cars don’t need a “real” transmission with a gearbox:
The gearshift on the center console is essentially a big switch. There’s no gearbox, just a reduction gear. “Shifting” from drive to low almost triples the amount of regenerative braking when easing up on the accelerator. Take your foot off the pedal, and the car slows more quickly and returns more energy to the battery.